Pakistan captain Shan Masood has stood by the choice of an all-pace attack in the first Test against Bangladesh, even though the strategy did not succeed. Bangladesh secured a historic 10-wicket victory in Rawalpindi on August 25. Omitting a specialist spinner from the lineup proved detrimental, as Pakistan failed to challenge Bangladesh, who amassed a massive 565 runs in their first innings.
Shan Masood defends Pakistan’s all-pace strategy despite embarrassing defeat to Bangladesh
In the first Test against Bangladesh, Pakistan’s four fast bowlers—Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, and Mohammad Ali—bowled a total of 117.3 overs. Meanwhile, part-time spinners Agha Salman, Saim Ayub, and Saud Shakeel contributed 50 overs. This approach did not yield the desired results, as Bangladesh achieved their first-ever Test victory over Pakistan, and on Pakistani soil.
Post-match, Shan Masood explained that the decision was shaped by the challenging weather conditions and the fact that Pakistan had not played Test cricket in the past 10 months. While Masood admitted that including a spinner might have been advantageous, the team chose to balance the side with seven dependable batsmen and four primary bowlers.
You can always fit the spinner in: Shan Masood
Shan Masood said at the post-match press conference: “The fast bowler was played looking at the extreme weather conditions where we could help each other share the load. Naseem and Shaheen hadn’t played Test cricket for a while, and Pakistan haven’t played Test cricket for 10 months.”
Masood added, “If we played three fast bowlers and lost one through injury, we could have been like, ‘Why didn’t we play that fourth fast bowler? Hindsight is always 20/20; you can always fit the spinner in, but you have to look at the full balance of the side. You need seven people that can bat properly and four frontline bowlers with a little help here or there.”
Losing match doesn’t mean every decision was flawed: Shan Masood
The Pakistan captain further elaborated that losing a match doesn’t imply that every decision was incorrect. He highlighted that during the first four days, the team was proactive and made strategic choices, such as declaring early and maintaining a scoring rate of approximately four runs per over.
Masood expressed frustration that these efforts were overlooked due to their loss to Bangladesh. He concluded by stating, “Losing doesn’t mean everything you did was wrong. Over the first four days, we were proactive, making decisions like an early declaration and scoring quickly at around four runs per over. Such efforts don’t seem to matter when you lose.”
Looking ahead, Pakistan will play Bangladesh in the second and final Test at the same venue in Rawalpindi starting August 30. Later, Pakistan will host England for a three-match Test series in October, while Bangladesh will travel to India for a two-match Test series.
